Stetson is not usually considered a hotbed of social activism, but members of the local chapter say they hope to encourage students as well as the community to become more sensitive toward women's issues.

''I became a feminist when I realized that as a woman, I had to carry three jobs to earn the same amount of money that my husband did with one,'' said Brooks, who has worked in food service all her life. ''NOW needed to be on campus to tell people that women and children deserve a fairer shake.''

The NOW group will be considered a student organization as soon as its membership is half students, said Mary Pollock, an English professor and NOW member. Among the about 20 dues-paying members are four students and a few faculty members, Pollock said.

NOW members come from both the Stetson campus and outside the university. As many as 50 people -- including about 10 men -- attend regular meetings of the chapter, she said.

Chapter president Sara Nabors said the group has been busy. In the past year, the group has held a two-day seminar on pornography, and conducted a celebration on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion. In January, it held a small protest in front a DeLand pregnancy clinic that was trying to dissuade women from having an abortion by showing them an anti-abortion film.

In the next month, Stetson/Community NOW is going to work to stop U.S. Senate confirmation of conservative judge Robert H. Bork, members said. They intend to starting a letter-writing campaign to both Florida senators.

Feminists are concerned that Bork, a federal appellate judge, will give the court a conservative majority that could overturn the Roe vs. Wade decision and affirmative action for women and minorities.

On a local level, she said, the group has succeeded in bringing up issues such as sexual harassment and date-rape that have been largely ignored on campus. Stetson students are not so much conservative as apolitical, Pollock said.

T. Wayne Bailey, a political science professor and chairman of the Volusia County Democratic Executive Committee, agreed that many Stetson students are politically apathetic, but pointed out that so are many students across the country.

The Stetson administration has ''never had any sort of negative reaction'' to the organization, Pollock said.

''If there was going to be any negative reaction from the administration, we would have felt it by now,'' she said.

Stetson/Community NOW formally elected members in December, after four women, including Brooks and Pollock, decided to form a NOW chapter on the west side of the county last August.